Future Girl by Asphyxia
Late capitalism has failed, it is bought to a head because of a fuel crisis. The people are starving. The Internet is controlled by the government and strictly censored. Democracy is a sham. The protagonist is a Deaf girl who was raised oral by her mother (who seems super smart, so should have known better?)
Sometimes I find dystopian fiction written through the lens of a very young and naïve protagonist can be a bit painful. There is so much the storyteller doesn't know or understand and sometimes the journey is too slow. This book has the added agenda of how a teenager discovers her community and finally overcomes social isolation by learning how to communicate in a way that is natural to her (using Australian Sign Language or AUSLAN). It can come across as a bit of a lecture in places, but the author is an advocate for Deaf people, so that is understandable. The relationships are a bit chunky and rough. I think it could have been longer and built in some more details to make it smoother.
The book itself is beautiful - it is the protagonist's art journal, after all. The illustration style is not really my thing but it's full colour, glossy pages will appeal to many.
I enjoyed the story and I think I learned some things as well.
I give it 3 and a half out of five cans of spray paint.
/5
A Long Way Gone
Ishmael BeahA quick read, I found this quite fascinating. I'll admit my knowledge of child soldiers in Africa doesn't extend much past Lupe Fiasco's song Little Weapon. Beah gives us a first person view of being a child running from war in Sierra Leone. His account of what happened when the UN scooped up children fighting from both sides and put them into dormitory accommodation together was eye opening. Everything in Lupe's song was in it, and more.
Beah's story has a happy ending for him, but not for many of his family and friends. It was certainly worth the time to read.
/5
It gets 4 out of 5 AK-47s from me.
